Thread by @juliettekayyem

The 1/6 hearings are less like the common analogies of 9/11 Commission or Trump's impeachments. Instead, look to the Vietnam Hearings held by Senate Foreign Relations Chair J. William Fulbright in 1966. 1/

A reporter had written to Fulbright in early 1966 to say "the war is not going well. If there is a God, and he is very kind to us, and given a million men, and five years, and a miracle in making the South Vietnamese people like us, we stand an outside chance—of a stalemate." 2/

The hearings were not conclusive; the war lasted years after. But they began Fulbright's attempts to forestall a buildup and "educate" the American public about the dangers at hand. Fulbright -- who pulled his dark glasses off at key moments -- was also from central casting. 3/

It was an all star lineup of witnesses. Retired generals. Scholars. Mostly televised. Pres. Johnson's ratings for handling the war dropped from 63 to 49% over the four weeks. Fulbright sought to educate "middle" America of what was happening through the hearing process. 4/

It was the process that mattered, an accounting in real time of current events to influence the road ahead. Fulbright, a Democrat, was able to reach Republicans. Nothing conclusive came from the hearings but they "parted the curtains" for the public. 5/
pri.org/stories/2017-0…

The radicalization and anti-democratic forces that Trump unleashed for years, culminating in 1/6, are on display now. Leaders of the GOP are unlikely to be swayed. But they won't be able to dismiss it. As Fulbright understood then, hearings are for citizens, not leadership. 6/

When Fulbright was asked about 1966, he simply stated that their purpose was to show "we are not living up to our capacity and promise as a civilized power for the world."
Amen. 7/7